Celebrity keynoters Kevin Spacey, Neri Oxman, and Rem Koolhaas will be among the numerous highlights of the AIA Convention 2016 held in Philadelphia next week. Learn and keep up with the latest from leading experts on topics including resiliency, business management, ADA compliance, LEED, green building, design and health, and more. Register for an in-depth workshop or pack your schedule with challenging seminars. Nearly 800 exhibitors will also be on hand with the latest products and technologies in the industry. Philadelphia is always a treat to visit so attendees will find a lot to entertain them after the conference lights dim.

The Philadelphia Museum Art crowns the city’s illuminated Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The culturally rich stretch is home to many parks, public works of art and museums, including Swann Memorial Fountain (pictured), the Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum, The Franklin Institute, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Sister Cities Park and many other attractions.

Those I spoke to at SPAR3D 2016 last week were amazed at the progress the 3D laser scanning/reality capture products had made over just one year. Many people attended in order to find out if the technology would be right for their organization and what it would entail in terms of a learning curve, and of course, how much it would cost.

Buildings are now generating vast amounts of data, cities need to be sustainable, flexible and producers of resources. AEC professionals must also have their eye on environmental impact and diminishing greenhouse gas emissions in design and construction as well as operations. As owner/operators get more involved in the entire lifecycle of the project, there is a greater need for convergence and collaboration of AEC teams.

AECCafe Voice recently interviewed CEO of Newforma, Ian Howell on topics including the management of project information today and how to make information from disparate systems talk to other.

Given the huge rise in the amount of digital information generated today, what do you think is the most effective way to manage all that information?

Ian Howell, chief executive officer, Newforma: “Huge rise” is true: When Newforma began in 2004, a large project generated 100 gigabytes of data. Ten years later, the largest project being managed by our customers generated 6.5 terabytes of data – 65 times as much! This growth is a consequence of a few factors: building designs are more ambitious across the industry, as illustrated by such high-profile projects as the one-kilometer high Jeddah Tower and the Apple Campus 2 headquarters; and building requirements are more complex as a result of factors such as sustainable design, concern for carbon footprints, etc.

To manage this explosion of digital data, customers have had to scale their systems and implement a project information management strategy that dovetails with the applications and systems already in use.

A consequence of handling so much more information on every project is the burden of trying to keep it organized. However, our experience shows that busy project team members rarely have the time to comply with the filing rules and meta-data tagging required by structured document management systems like SharePoint.

Trends that are shaping the built world are powered by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, institute BIM mandates across the globe, the need for convergence or collaboration of AEC teams, the need for the “smart city,” emergence of the owner/operator extending the lifecycle of a project into operations and maintenance, and provision of tools that are right for the job. These trends are linked, as one will benefit and nourish the other.